Hi, I'm Nicky

NICE TO MEET YOU BEAUTY!

I'm Nicky Dawkins

Hello friends! My name is Nicky Dawkins, I am a Full Circle Reproductive Health Doula, Hormonal Health Coach, and Activist based in Miami, FL. I am the mother of two beautiful little ones who keep me quite busy.  I have a huge passion for reproductive health, and over the years launched several ventures to honor the wellness of women, particularly mothers.​​

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I started Menstrual Doula because I deeply believe in the power of our menstrual cycles, as well as body literacy and autonomy for all. We all have the ability to tap into our wombs, but often don't have the knowledge, tools, or safe space to do so. That is what Menstrual Doula is all about! Welcome home sis.

My Story

The journey between my body and I began at 10 years old when I got my first period. To be honest, it wasn’t a traumatic experience for me. But what came after was!

Fortunately, my mother had done a great job of telling me what to expect from my body when she noticed my breast starting to form. Her stepmother was a health teacher herself in Jamaica, so she always used the proper words - enter ‘vagina” and was very calm about it. But it did take my menarche for her to fully give me the rundown on what my period meant. Our convos about puberty went from a sweet, nurturing chats to a fear-based lectures just like that. 

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We all know those common phrases like -  ” You are a woman now” back then were really just a way of saying that having a period meant I could get pregnant, so be careful! Mind you, like many other young girls my age, I had no idea what went on in between that could cause pregnancy - nor was I interested in that yet. But that message “You are a woman now” was engraved in my brain every month from then until I graduated from high school. 

My real relationship with my cycle began I was 17. I thought my period was pretty normal, PMS, cramps were all a part of it right? But I began to get curious about birth control which all the girls in my grade were talking about. They claimed it made their periods go away, their boobs bigger, and that they less pimples too? Where do sign!? 

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So right after my 18th birthday I went to college and Miami and got a prescription for the pill from the campus clinic, with very little explanation of the side effects or even why I wanted it at all. The pill made me gain weight, which I welcomed at the time, but it also sent my moog swings all over the place. About 9 months later, I decided to experiment and try the NuvaRing, which was prescribed by the campus clinic with a pamphlet and an appointment to follow up  6 months later.

It gave me constant yeast infections and threw my cycle off completely. I would get my period one month and not another, then get it 3 months in a row. After 16 months on NuvaRing, I ditched birth control and deep dived researched into cycle tracking, herbs, and condoms. 

Why I Do It

Once I learned how to tap into my cycle, track it, and master it - I felt like a brand new woman! There were no apps at this time yet, but I lived my planner calendar. I was already eating better, sleeping more, being more productive and engaging. Something about knowing when my period would arrive, when to have sex, when to take it easy made me feel like I had my body back. I felt more in control of my life in general, because I had learned to live cyclically. 

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When my son was conceived, I was well aware of my cycle and the possibility of pregnancy. We actively chose not to use protection, so I became pregnant with my son. And I knew it the moment I missed my period, because at that point I had become totally in sync with my womb. Even though it wasn't planned, I felt like I had control and I made the choice. I built an amazing birth team that supported my holistic path, stepped back into my island roots, and meditated daily. Early morning on August 2, 2015, my son was immediately welcomed, and I was ecstatic meet him.

The birth of my son birthed a new mom, a doula, a new cyclical being. It forced me to face my darkest fears about myself, the type of mother I wanted to be, the role I wanted to play in this world that suddenly looked so completely different. The birth was the beginning of a purge, a deep dive into my family history, a beautiful reopening of my soul. Within one year, I dropped my entertainment career, my high rise luxury apartment, my full time job, and my sad little side hustle. It was a long, full blown detoxication.